The name of Manoj Datta, professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, was cleared as director of Punjab Engineering College (PEC) today.

Well-placed sources in the administration said the interview committee had selected Datta and UT Administrator Gen S.F. Rodrigues (Retd) had okayed his name.

PEC is a deemed university. Datta, a doctorate, teaches civil engineering at the IIT, Delhi.

He has special interest in geo-environment, landfills, ash ponds, tailings, ground improvement, slope stability, dams and offshore geo-technology. He has been dean, international affairs, at the IIT in Delhi.

Datta did his schooling from St Johnís School here in the seventies. Other than Datta, Subir.K. Satsangi from the IIT in Kharagpur and Prasad Krishna, adviser to the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) were shortlisted for the post.

The interview committee comprised the adviser to the UT Administrator, the UT home secretary, former UT finance secretary S.K. Sandhu, the director of the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, and former Panjab University VC K.N. Pathak.